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Old school techniques of landlords wanted leaflets, ring us for a free valuation, we have let/sold this in your street leaflets don't work anymore. And then there are simply too many competitor agents with their cheap fees, overvaluing and don’t even mention about the online/hybrid threat. So, a few years ago, I set about looking around the UK and spotted that certain letting agents were still seen as the ‘go to person on property’, the person the newspaper editor rang up every week for a comment. I looked at what they did and they were doing something quite remarkable They weren’t talking about their lettings agency, what they had let, how many offices they had, how wonderful they were and neither were they offering cheap fees .. they were talking about what was happening in the local property market because that’s what local landlords are fascinated about. .. ie how much is my property worth (it’s a British national pastime) The agents compared their town against neighbouring town…

Purplebricks /Yopa/EasyProperty and the rest of the ‘Call Centre’ gang of Agents have by anecdotal evidence around 5% of the UK Estate Agency market.
Not 50% .. Not even 15% …. They have 5%
And 12 months ago .. 4%
And 24 months ago .. 3%
I say to all the UK agents moaning ... Stop panicking and for Pete’s sake …. stop crying
You must deal with the reality of the situation.

Over thinking, being preoccupied and crying about them doesn't do diddly squat.
You can moan, you can whine, you can poke fun out of them, you can constantly mention them at your free val, you can have them play on your mind at night and you can cry …. But you are going just going to lose.
WATCH THIS 3min VIDEO for a no holds barred on the futility of estate agents moaning and crying about Purplebricks ..

In this 21st century world, many people have come to suppose that individuals permanently want the cheapest option and that they consistently want it quick and easy. Yet, you know, this isn’t true of every person. You are that person. You don’t go for the cheapest car brand or shop at the cheapest supermarket. McDonalds is quick – but you would take your better half there for a romantic meal. Not everyone wants Purplebricks and their £800 deals But if you don’t prove you are worth more .. what else have people to base their decision on. Audi, Waitrose, BMW, the nice Italian Restaurant in your town have all proved they are worth the money. That they are better than cheap car brands, the cheap supermarket brands and burger joint

If you allow yourselves to be dragged down by likes of PB and Yopa into the pit of £800 selling fees... by offering an online cheap as chips package that runs side by side your High Street offering – instead of protecting your High St operation - you might just be creating the very thing that will kill your High Street operation?

Most letting and estate agents reading this are privileged to be employed for purposes beyond only bringing in enough money to put a roof over your head and food on the table. We are the fortunate ones—essentially driven to do work we care about and enjoy. A profession that offers us a sense of purpose while aiding us to achieve our potential.In our pursuit for winning in estate/letting agency, we devote a big chunk of our time pursuing the kind of growth we believe strengthens the P+L. Our objective to increase our agency’s reach, convert more free valuations and surpass our competitors can sometimes be at the expense of doing what turns is on. We often overlook the things that encourage us to do the great work, that will paradoxically enable us to expand our reach, attract more landlords/vendors, be competitive and feel accomplished.

Whenever someone buys anything, be it finding an awesome plumber or using an estate or letting agent, people look for specialists, experts and leaders in the sphere they are looking in.

They want someone who appears to have a track record, instead of someone who wastes their time and pound notes.
By establishing your estate / lettings agency as the obvious option for those who are picky, you rise above the homogeneous, every agent appears to be a carbon copy as the guy next door. It happens in aspects of life .. including estate and lettings.
By being that authority .. you will become the shining star in the dark night sky.
By providing consistent information that you and your estate / lettings agency business is an authority in the marketplace- you will naturally attract homeowners and landlords.
Want to know what good looks like ..
Look at these agents ..
https://lnkd.in/d2TpdS8https://lnkd.in/gw5-FWXhttps://lnkd.in/gkR3PeC

the 7 reasons why you aren't as successful in the lettings/estate agency industry as you feel you should be ..
1. aspiration2. perseverance3. strategies 4. reputation5. plans6. implementation7. fear
Outlining your aspirations and strategies is great, but if you don’t have the plans in place or you’re not skilled enough to implement, it won’t matter if the strategy is a good one.
The success of what you want to do is going to be influenced in big measure by the reputation of the people who join in and the organisation that brings it forward. That can't be change in a 24 hours, but it’s something that will change (like it or not) every 24 hours.
None of this matters if you and your team don’t persevere, and your persistence will largely be driven by the aspiration you have to succeed, which of course is constantly undermined by the fear we all fight in our heads .. each and every day.
Which one(s) are firing on all cylinders for you?

Getting a vendor/ house-seller who is currently on the market with your competitors, to switch to your estate agency is hard work I have always wondered why people don’t swap agents as readily as you would think they should… ..and when they do swap agents .. they don’t tend to swap to the other estate agents they originally asked out

So, I went away and I had a think about it.I wanted to find out why this happened. … and I might have the answer? You see, in life (and in estate/lettings agency).. everyone hates to admit they were wrong. Nobody wants to be a seen a prat .. its awkward .. its embarrassing The vendor/ house-seller is not keen to say, let alone admit, "I put my heart and soul with this first agent, but I now understood that there's a better choice, I was wrong" Changing agent means they are admitting to themselves that their original choice of agent was wrong .. and then they feel stupid … so if you think they are going to admit that to you .. the agent they origin…

The Author

Hello, my name is Christopher Watkin from Grantham in Lincolnshire.

This blog are some of my thoughts on the systems I have adopted, adapted and improved to organically grow estate and lettings agency's by at least 20% to 30% per year. (you will say what is the catch - hard work and persistence)